Governor defamation case: West Bengal CM Mamata seeks stay on single bench's restraining order on her

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday moved a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, praying for a stay on a single bench order that restrained her and three others from making "defamatory or incorrect" statements against Governor C V Ananda Bose.

Banerjee and the three others appealed before the division bench challenging the single bench's interim order.

Also seeking a stay on the single bench order, Banerjee's counsel S N Mookherjee stated before the division bench presided by Justice I P Mukerji that she has not made any defamatory statement against the governor.

He submitted that her statement in question relate to the discharge of public duty over oath-taking of two newly-elected MLAs.

Mookherjee submitted that though Bose cited published news articles, he has not made the publications party in his defamation suit.

The division bench, also comprising Justice Biswaroop Chowdhury, directed that the matter will be taken up for further hearing on Thursday, when Bose's lawyer will make his counter submissions.

Justice Krishna Rao had on July 16 passed the interim order on the defamation suit filed by the governor against Banerjee and three others for making certain remarks during an administrative meeting while commenting on a row over the oath-taking of the two newly-elected TMC MLAs -- Sayantika Banerjee and Reyat Hossain Sarkar.

The single bench passed the restraining order, applicable till August 14, also on the two MLAs and TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.